The Andhra Agric. J 65 (3): 504-518, 2018
Journal
Since 1954
Dryland Agriculture in India
- Status and the Way Forward
Often the terms ‘drylands’ and ‘rainfed regions’
are used synonymously. Though they overlap to a large
extent, dryland area is a piece of agricultural land having
no source of irrigation including groundwater. Dryland
Agriculture is defined as cultivation of crop entirely
with rainwater received during the crop season or stored/
conserved soil moisture or supplemented with harvested
rainwater. Time and again the crop experiences mild to
very severe moisture stress during cropping period in
dryland areas. Drylands are characterized by having)
limited rainfall up to 1000 mm; ii) shortage of moisture
availability; iii) growing season of less than 200 days;iv)
single crop or intercropping system, and v) constraints
of water and wind erosion.
There is no single agreed definition of the term
drylands. Two of the most widely accepted definitions
are those of FAO and the United Nations Convention
to Combat Desertification (UNCCD, 1994). FAO has
defined drylands as those areas with a length of growing
period (LGP) of 1-179 days (FAO, 2000); this includes
regions classified climatically as arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid. The UNCCD classification employs a ratio
of annual precipitation to potential evapotranspiration
(P/PET). UNCCD (United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification) defines drylands based on
aridity index (la) computed as ratio of mean annual
precipitation (P) to m ean annual potential
evapotranspiration (PET). Accordingly, areas with arid
(Ia=0.05-0.20), semi-arid (Ia=0.20-0.50) and dry sub-
humid (Ia=0.50-0.65) climates are termed as drylands
(UNCCD, 1994). While about 40 percent of the world’s
total land area is considered to be drylands (according
to the UNCCD classification system), the extent of
drylands in various regions ranges from about 20 to
90%.Raju et al. (2014) computed aridity index using
the district level annual rainfall and PET data for years
1971-2005 and identified districts in India having
dryland climates. Net sown area (mostly average of
two years: 2007-08,2008-09) of districts with dryland
climates adds up to 85 m ha (approximate). A map
showing dryland districts is furnished as Fig. 1.
Drought Prone Districts in India - Revisited
As per UNCCD criteria some of the districts
of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh states which
are part of Indo-Genetic belt fall under dryland climate.
However moisture inadequacy is not very acute in these
Dr. K. Sammi Reddy
Director (Acting), ICAR - CRIDA, Hyderabad
Email: ksreddy_iiss39@yahoo.com;
director.crida@icar.gov.in
Dr. Sammi Reddy was Bom in Sriramulapally,
Carimnagar, India on 12 October 1965. Educated at
Zhlla Parishad High School, Gopalpur, 1980-81;
Government Junior College, Hanamkonda, 1981-83;
A.P Agricultural University, B. Sc (Ag) 1983-87,
VI. Sc (Ag) 1987-89; Indian Agricultural Research
nstitute, New Delhi, Ph. D. 1995-98
He joined as Scientific Assistant, National
demote Sensing Agency, Hyderabad, 1990-91; Scientist
rainee, NAARM, Hyderabad, 1991-92; Scientist, 1992-
?8, Scientist (Senior Scale), 1998-2000, Senior
Scientist, 2000-08, and Principal Scientist, 2008-12,
ndian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal; Principal
Scientist, Central Research Institute for Dryland
Agriculture, Hyderabad, 2012-13; Head, Division of
Resource Management, Central Research Institute for
Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, 2014 -17.
Dr. K. Sammi Reddy received Dhiru Morarji
Memorial Award of FAI, 1995 and 2005; PPIC-FAI
Award, 1997; Golden Jubilee Commemoration Young
Scientist Award of ISSS, 2002; IMPHOS-FAI Award,
2003; TSI-FAI Award, 2006; FAI Golden Jubilee Award
for Excellence, 2008 and 2013; National Academy of
Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) Associate Fellow, 2006-
10; Hari Om Ashram Trust Award of ICAR, 2008-09;
Best Paper Presentation Award of ISSS, 2011; 12th
nternational Congress of Soil Science Commemoration
Award of ISSS, 2013.
Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural
Sciences (NAAS), New Delhi; Fellow of the Indian
Society of Soil Science, New Delhi.
2018
Dryland Agricultural in India
505
districts due to assured sources of irrigation. Irrigation
helps in bringing stability in production of crops and
livestock. In view of this a technical committee
constituted by MoRD in 1993 under the chairmanship
Prof. C.H. Hanumantha Rao to review the Drought
Prone Area Program m e (DPAP) and D esert
Development Programme (DDP) developed a criterion
based on moisture index and share of net irrigated area
to net sown area to identify districts to be covered
under DDP and DPAP (MoRD, 1994). Moisture index
is computed as (P-PET)/PET. According to this
criterion, the districts where arid ecosystem exists
(moisture index value less than-66.7) and net irrigated
area is not more than 50% were eligible to be covered
under DDP. The districts with semi-arid ecosystem
(with moisture index range -66.7 to —33.3) and net
irrigated area not more than 40% were made eligible
for coverage under DPAP. The districts with dry sub-
humid ecosystem and net irrigated area not more than
30% were also made elible for coverage under DPAP.
Average irrigation statistics (mostly 2007-08 and 2008-
09) and moisture index based climate assessed by Raju
el al. (2013) based on recent data sets were employed
in the dual criteria and eligibility of districts to DPAP /
DDP was evaluated (Venkateswarlu etal., 2014). The
map showing the districts eligible for DPAP and DDP
is furnished as Fig 2. There are 22 districts eligible for
DDP and 121 districts eligible for DPAP totaling 143
districts.
Fig 2. Districts eligible for DPAP and DDP
Dryland Agriculture Production Systems
Dryland agriculture production systems in the
country are diverse and heterogeneous. They are
grouped in to five classes viz. i) Rainfed rice production
system; ii) Coarse nutritious cereal based production
system; ii) Oilseed based production system; iv) Pulse
based production system and v) Cotton based
production system.
Though these crops require relatively less water,
they present much bigger problems addressing some
of which is beyond the realm of any single stakeholder
organization. For example, coarse cereals suffer an
eroding demand because of reasons such as changing
food habits, government policies related to input
subsidies, food supply and procurement. Similarly,
pulses are not so breeding-friendly in the sense that
genetic improvement for higher yields is more difficult
compared to crops such as rice and wheat. The
difficulty in breaking the yield barriers in case of pulse
crops is reflected in the rate of growth in yield during
the last four decades. Crops such as pigeonpea, castor
and cotton are essentially long duration crops and hence
are more prone to moisture stress during the later stages
of crop growth and are also sometimes subjected to
heavy rains during and after flowering resulting in
considerable yield losses. Tons
This sector currently produces 40% of the food
grains and supports two-thirds of the live stock
population. Despite increase in average productivity
levels from 0.6 tonnes in the eighties to 1.1 tonnes at
present, large yield gaps exist in several crops and
regions between research stations and farmer’s fields.
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Dryalnd Agriculture Research: History
The Green Revolution in mid-sixties, though a
boon to Indian agriculture, ushered in era of wide
disparity between productivity of irrigated and rainfed
agriculture. Alarmed by such a situation, during Fourth
Plan (1969-74), the emphasis was to focus attention
on hither to neglected farmers of the dryland regions
to participate m eaningfully in the agricultural
development process. This socio-economic imbalance
led to a serious rethinking and a comprehensive network
research program was initiated to stabilize the
performance of the then introduced hybrids of coarse
cereals in rainfed/dryland region and to moderate the
periodic drought related adverse impact on total
agricultural productivity. Further, droughts of mid-sixties
catalyzed the Govt, to invest on dryland research
significantly. Inl970 the ICAR launched All India
Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture
(AICRPDA) at Hyderabad, in collaboration with the
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
with 23 centers and Co-coordinating Cell at Hyderabad.
CRIDA was established during 1985 by upgrading
the All India Coordinated Research Proj ect for Dryland
Agriculture (AICRPDA), Hyderabad centre to work
on development of suitable technologies to enhance
the productivity in rainfed areas. CRIDA, along with
two All India Coordinated Research Projects namely
on Dryland Agriculture and Agrometeorology with about
25 centers each located in different parts of the country,
strives towards development and popularization of
location specific rainfed technologies for productivity
enhancement.
The systematic research in dryland agriculture
was initiated by ICAR in 1970 with start of All India
Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture
(AICRPDA) in collaboration w ith Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA) and
AICRPDA-CIDA collaboration was in three phases
i.e.1970-75,1976-82 and 1982-87. During 1970-1987,
the sound foundations of systematic and location-
specific research were laid out across AICRPDA centers.
The location specificity of the technology was
emphasized with “low monetary input”, i.e. the basic
crop production practices like time of seeding and plant
population-geometry in relation to rainfall, and weed
management, crop substitution and cropping systems
as a necessary input for improved production. The
emphasis on intercropping research was to identify the
regions where intercropping was feasible and
worthwhile to increase in cropping intensity and
secondly, to compare the productivity and stability of
intercropping versus monocropping in agro climatic-
regions where only a single crop is feasible in a year.
The research strategy for each region consisted of
screening of different crops for compatibility in
intercropping systems, modifying planting patterns, such
as paired row planting, identifying optimum row ratios
for efficient moisture and nutrient utilization by
component crops, identifying the best cultivars for the
component crops and determining the optimum N and
P doses for intercropping systems. The significant area
identified was tailoring the technology to the aberrant
weather situations. The focus on rainwater management
research was on identifying efficient methods for crop
life saving irrigation, in situ moisture conservation by
tillage, continued focus on identifying efficient crops
and cropping systems, crop husbandry for weather
aberrations and alternate or multiple land use. The
research
continued on intercropping and double
cropping could ensure stable optimal yields and
maximize profits in relation to agro climatic resources,
with further refinem ent of the systems through
identification of genotypes, manipulation of sowing and
harvesting dates and plant populations and fertilizer use.
The pulses and oilseeds formed important components
of the cropping systems research (AICRPDA, 2003).
The dryland research amply demonstrated that
yield of dry land crops could be increased by at least
100% with improved varieties and sowing methods and
higher yields with advancement of sowing dates,
particularly post rainy period in Deccan region,
minimizing the risk with split application of N, and
alternate crops for aberrant weather situations. Dry
seeding is recommended for the locations/soil types
where the conditions (soil) do not permit sowing
operations with the onset of monsoon. Across the
AICRPDA centers, probable and efficient crop growing
periods were established based on rainfall, potential
evapotranspiration and water retaining capacity of soils.
K aolin was identified as the m ost effective
antitranspirant for controlling the transpiration losses
of barley and sorghum. In black soils regions, with 500
to 1000 nun rainfall, the productivity of upland rainy
season crops could be substantially improved by
providing furrows graded to 0.2 to 0.3 % slope, to
transmit excess rainwater. Another milestone in dryland
research was refinement of cropping system technology
i.e. in case of rainy season crops, choice of crops and
varieties could be decided by the rainfall pattern and
length of effective growing season, however in post-
rainy season crops grown on conserved soil moisture,
the available soil moisture in the profile at the sowing
time decided choice of crops. With the advent of high
yielding and input responsive varieties to suit different
situations, the agriculture became more ‘Production
oriented’.
The concepts of off-season tillage, and life
saving irrigation with harvested rainwater for better crop
2018
Dryland Agricultural in India
507
production were established. In chronic drought prone
areas, deep tillage (20-30 cm) was found specifically
applicable to soils having textural profiles or hard pans.
Under uni-modal (<500 mm) rainfall situation in semi
arid regions with shallow Alfisols, sowing across the
slope and ridging later was useful. In black soils, deep
tillage alone was of no avail. Tillage combined with
compartmental bunding was found to be a most
effective soil management practice for Vertic Incept
sols. With rainy season cropped Vertisols (unimodal
rainfall regions), water surplussing is an integral part of
in situ moisture conservation, hi bi-modal medium (500-
750 mm) rainfall representing semi-arid Alfisol, graded
border strips were found advantageous. Surface
mulching with crop residues like sorghum and maize
stubbles, dry grass, wheat straw and pigeonpea stalk
prevented moisture loss and prolong the moisture
retention period and enhanced yield of crops. The year-
round tillage as a means of control of weeds and
conserve soil moisture was crystallized into a concept
of great significance to dry lands. Deep tillage increased
the yields of crops across the climates and soil types.
The ridges and furrows always increased the yield,
however with more effectiveness during moderate
drought (AICRPDA, 2003).
The research on intercropping systems (ICSs)
suggested that additive series was most successful with
base crops as sorghum, maize, pearl millet, pigeonpea,
safflower and wheat, wherein the land equivalent ratios
(LERs) of the additive series were greater (with average
of 23% more) than replacement series with multiple
benefits of higher output and returns, spread labour
peaks, maintenance of soil fertility (with inclusion of
legume ) and stability in production. Intercropping of
fast growing legumes like cowpea and greengram as
cover crops benefitted the base crop in better resource
efficiency. The performance of the ICSs were strongly
correlated with the amount of seasonal rainfall, when
it was the above normal, optimum productivity was
achieved; under normal rainfall conditions, fairly high
values of land equivalent ratios were achieved; and
under low rainfall conditions, one of the two crops
reasonably yielded providing an insurance against the
risk due to w eather aberrations.
Stable and
economically viable double and intercropping systems
were evolved with predominant crops of the region as
base crops and pulses and oilseeds as intercrops for
various rainfall and soil type regions with potentials of
higher productivity, income and high land and resource
use efficiency over time and space that increased
cropping intensity to 150 to 200%. Several crops were
screened for intercropping systems across the country.
Pigeonpea either as base crop or intercrop performed
better, particularly in sorghum, cotton and pearl millet
based intercropping systems (AICPRDA, 2003).
Crop substitution concept was evolved in
which the performance of various new crops was
evaluated vis-a-vis traditional crops, for e.g. in Vertisols
of Bellary, sorghum was efficient than cotton. The
cropping intensity could be increased considerably
depending on the soil types and moisture availability
period. However, the duration of the crop cultivars
influenced the selection of a cropping system. Hence,
the research in this area clearly brought out that in the
high rainfall dryland (> 1000 mm) regions of Orissa,
and eastern Madhya Pradesh, a second crop could be
grown in the residual moisture after a 90 days duration
variety of upland rice than 120 days duration, similarly
in the Vertisols of Vidarbha (Maharashtra), a change
of 140 or 150 days sorghums to about 90 or 100 days
cultivars provided an opportunity to grow chickpea or
safflower in sequence. Double cropping was possible
only in areas receiving more than 750 mm rainfall with
a soil moisture storage capacity of more than 200 mm.
Another significant contribution of agronomic research
was the identification of the most compatible genotypes
of the component crops of the system for a higher
system’s productivity.
The experiments on alternate land use systems
(ALUS) for arable and marginal lands were initiated at
AICRPDA in 1981. Leucaenalecocephala based forage
alley cropping system was developed at Hyderabad with
the multiple objectives like forage, forage- cum-mulch,
and forage-cum-poles. The ALUSs developed were tree
farming, ley farming (Stylosantheshamata with sorghum
rotation), silivipasture (Leucaenaleucocephala +
Stylosantheshamata + Cenchrusciliaris) agro
horticulture (guava/custard apple/pomegranate/ber
based). Leucaenaleucocephala is the most popular tree
species to serve as hedge-row in the alley cropping
system . Studies at AICRPDA
revealed that
Dicanthium, Sehima and Lasiurus are suitable for
severe drought prone areas while Cenchrusciliaris,
Panicum maximum and Urochloa were for moderate
drought prone areas. Stylosanthushamata, a pasture
legume, was identified for improvement of soil fertility
and as quality fodder for alfisols of Hyderabad.
During 1972-73, large scale scarcity of rainfall
was experienced all over the country, particularly in
the scarcity region of Maharashtra, Karnataka
and
Andhra Pradesh. Roving seminars were organized by
the ICAR at different locations, at the end of which
new phrases were coined viz. contingent crop planning
and mid-season correction. As a follow up, dry land
centers collected data on these two aspects and after
analysis of weather data for the past 100 years, listed
the weather aberrations: i) delayed onset of monsoon;
ii) early withdrawal o f monsoon; iii) intermittent dry
spells o f various durations; iv) prolonged dry> spells
causing changes in the strategy ; and v) prolonged
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monsoon. Scientists at Solapur, Bijapur, and Hyderabad
worked on these aspects and developed Contingent
crop planning strategies for delayed on set monsoon
(AICRPDA, 1983). The research efforts made in this
scarcity region by introduction of safflower as a sole
crop in scarcity zone of M aharashtra ultimately
augmented the oilseed production. Contingency plans,
for each region was a conceptual approach unique from
AICRPDA project in developing location specific
contingent crop strategies.
The research, 1987 onwards, was focused on
evaluation of the most efficient crops and their varieties
for each agro climatic location. Most efficient crop
varieties have been identified based on a continuous
evaluation and screening both at research station
followed by farmers’ fields. With the base crop of 100
days duration, for intercropping, varieties of 140-150
days duration on deep moisture - retentive soils and
60-70 days duration on medium deep soil were highly
successful. Apool of germplasm of short duration under
exploited crops such as horse gram has been screened
and promising lines identified for increasing cropping
intensity by sequence/ intercrop. In case of plant
density, the average productivity over varying plant
densities is positively correlated with sustainability in
most of the situations. Sustainability in yield due to
plant density is interacting with crop, variety, season,
rainfall, soil type and fertilizer. When fertilizer was
applied the sustainability index started decreasing at a
lower plant density compared to the situation where
fertilizer was applied at a higher plant density. Another
interesting point is that in the case of post-rainy season
sorghum, the sustainability started decreasing at a lower
plant density level in the case of variety (M-35-1)
compared to hybrid (CSH-8R) grown on shallow (>30
cm) soils. With sufficient rainfall (usually > 800 mm)
double cropping was possible and out of the two crops,
one could be short duration (60-70 days, usually
legume), and another could be long duration of 110-
120 days (usually cereal). At Phulbani, Rewa and
Ranchi, sequential cropping was very much possible
while with more success in selection of suitable crops
and their sequence. Short duration (60-70 days)
legumes such as greengram/blackgram or early cowpea
followed by 100-120 days cereal crop was an ideal
sequential cropping system while one cereal in the
sequence was useful to meet grain and fodder
requirements. In regions where rainfall was more than
1000 mm (Rewa and Ranchi), upland rice-chickpea/
lentil was a proven sequence. Successful intercropping
was when the optimum plant population of base crop
through the row arrangements while maintaining the
plant density of companion crop/inter crop near optimal
(range could be 75 -100%). At Hyderabad, in shallow
soils sorghum + pigeonpea (2:1) performed
better
with yield advantage (both grain and fodder) up to 20%
under varied rainfall situations. Pigeonpea had been
found to be unique and highly preferred component
crop across production systems (AICRPDA, 2003).
The studies conducted across AICRPDA
centers showed that 1 kg of fertilizer N produced
additional grain yield varying from 4.3 to 38 kg in a
variety o f crops (rice, sorghum , pearlm illet,
ra/usorghum, wheat, safflower and mustard) grown
under different rainfall environments and diverse soil
types. Integrated nutrient management (EMM) studies
have established the value of a number of naturally
occurring nutrients containing (organic manures) and
generating (biofertilizers) sources to augment overall
nutrient turnovers for soil fertility management. Green
manure was found to be a dependable source of several
plant nutrients. Typically, it could meet half the N
requirements of a crop.
Inclusion of legumes in a
rotation benefitted the succeeding crop equivalent to
10 30 kgN ha1. Short duration legumes such as cowpea
benefitted much more. INM in combination with
legume based crop is recommended for higher
productivity.
INM system s, besides nutrient
supplementation, enhanced soils’ ability to hold
additional water and produced resulted in favorable soil
biological interactions. Schemes to generate green
manure in a non-competitive way during the no cropping
season and bund farming have been worked out. This
has opened up a new vista to make green manuring a
viable option. Long term INM trials conducted for more
than 35 seasons at AICRPDA centers indicated that
fertilizer cost can be reduced by substitution of fertilizer
with organics. In most of the situations, the yield
sustainability was higher when the recommended dose
of fertilizer was applied. Further, in case of cereals,
higher sustainability was obtained when the
recommended dose of nutrients was applied through
chemical sources. In case of oilseeds, however, the
recommended dose applied half through chemical
fertilizer and the other half through organic source led
to higher sustainability values. Available nitrogen,
organic carbon and phosphorus content in soil were
increased with organic fertilizer application. Application
of crop residues in combination with chemical fertilizer
resulted in higher sustainable yield and maintained higher
levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and organic carbon.
Green leaf manure proved promising in increasing the
sustainability in yield and improving the organic carbon,
infiltration rate and hydraulic conductivity of the soil.
The rainwater haresting in farm ponds and
efficient utilization through supplemental/protective
irrigation to annual crops and fruit crops proved to be
beneficial. Harvesting runoff water and storage in farm
ponds could be a distinct possibility in red soils of
Karnataka. Ponds may be 200 m3 for 0.6 ha catchment
2018
Dryland Agricultural in India
509
and 2000 m3 for 6 to 7 ha catchment areas. Nearly
50% of the stored water can be used for protective
irrigation. Under severe drought, at Arjia, protective
irrigation increased yields by 377 over 1004 kg/ha in
maize. During the experimental period of 7 seasons,
there was a total failure of crop in one year and drought
occurred in 3 seasons at Arjia. In medium deep black
soils of Bijapur, Bellary, and Solapur, the effect of one
minimal irrigation (4 to 6 cm) on the yield of rabi
sorghum was phenomenal. In red lateritic soils of
Bangalore, the late sown crops such as finger millet or
long duration crops such as chillies or cowpea sown in
May are likely to be more benefited by one protective
irrigation of 5 cm than two irrigations of 2.5 cm each
(AICRPDA, 2003).
In the Post 1985 era, the dryland research was
much important due to shift from field crops to dry
land horticulture plantation, particularly in shallow and
sloppy lands. Techniques for rehabilitation of marginal
lands for planting annual and perennial crops by
restructuring the planting site were devised through
fertility improvement by addition of tank silt,
composted/farmyard manure, black soil etc. With
planting site improve-ment, a noticeable improvement
in crop establishment, survival and yielding ability
occurred. Studies at CRIDA have indicated that ring
weeding and in situ moisture conservation besides micro
site improvement were essential to improve the survival
of fruit tree seedlings in dry lands. Water supply to the
plant can be improved by water harvesting using situ
or ex situ system.
The opportunities for crop diversification
were explored. Based on the research information for
the past 40 years, a new approach was identified for
horizontal and vertical diversifications potentials of
rainfed cropping systems in typical rainfed districts in
India, which were given for five major crop based
production systems viz. rice, oilseeds, pulses, cotton
and coarse cereals under the Sim pson crop
diversification indices of 80-100%, 60-80%, 40-60%
and less than 40%, as well as under different soil
degradation status (Vittal and Ravindra Chary, 2007).
Studies on high value crops like at CRIDA and in other
organizations, m edicinal and dye crops (senna,
ashwagandha, dye crops etc) aromatic (lemon grass,
palmarosa, vetiver, basil etc.) and dye yielding (hidigo,
Bixa, Hernia etc) either sole or in intercropping systems
indicated a large scope for crop diversification with
these crops in dry land agriculture for risk minimization,
higher income and quality produce.
During 2001-2005, an entirely new approach
of Crop planning as per Soil-site suitability was
conceptualized under NATP-Mission Mode Project
on Land Use Planning for Management of Agricultural
Resources in Rainfed Agro ecosystem where in 400
interventions were demonstrated on 132 soil-sub groups
on varying topo-sequences in 16 micro-watersheds.
This provided much needed land use diversification
from the traditional rainfed land utilization and indicated
micro level variations of soils (phases of soil series)
and management practices on a topo-sequence are the
prime factors influencing land productivity which
increased from 30 to 50 per cent and in few cases
more than double. The soil-site suitability criteria were
developed for 41 field, horticulture and high value
crops.
Research on integrated fanning systems was
started at AICRPDA centers in 1990s (AICRPDA,
2003) and also under NATP-PSR and NATP-IVLP-
TAR projects during 1999-2006. At Kovilpatti, an IFS
model for 0.4ha comprising sorghum+greengram (0.16
ha) + maize + cowpea (0.08 ha) + clusterbean /senna
(0.04 ha) + poultry (20 broiler birds) +Kannigo&is (4)
+ Vembur sheep (6) + dairy - cross bred cow (1) was
suggested which could give more sustainability with
higher net returns, employment generation and increase
in soil fertility. Other IFS modules suggested were,
agroforestry+sheep based IFS at Anantapur, cereals,
pulses and oilseeds based IFS modules for 1 ha at
Hyderabad and most importantly at Arjia viable IFS
modules were developed with the components of crop,
small ruminants, agroforestry systems for small and
marginal holdings, which were included in National
Livelihood Mission programme in Bhilwara district
(Rajasthan).
The benchm ark Perm anent M anurial
Experiments initiated at 18 Centers in 1984 across
diverse rainfed cropping systems serving as platforms
for intensive research on carbon sequestration, nutrient
use efficiency, development of data sets for C modeling,
LCA and overall soil quality index development. The
long term experim ents on tillage and nutrient
management at 19 Centers since 2000, formed the basis
for developm ent of resource conservation and
Conservation Agriculture (CA) research initiative in
rainfed production systems under ICAR-CRP. These
outcome of these experiments led to developing soil
quality indicators for diverse dryland agro ecologies
and production systems. A summary Oof the major
research achievements from the above 11 centers are
briefed below.
Dryland Agriculture Research: Salient
Achievements
The following 13 AICRPDA centers are located
in dryland districts identified under DPAP/DDP
programme in the country.
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Mean Annual Rainfall (mm) /Climate
AICRPDA centers (MARE)
500- 750 / Semiarid hot dry
Anantapuram (554) ;Arjia (656); Bijapur (595);
Kovilpatti (723); Rajkot (590); Solapur (732)
750 -1000 / Semiarid hot moist
Bengaluru (926); Parbani (901); Akola (824)
1000-1250 / Sub humid hot dry
Ranchi/Chianki (1179); Rewa (1088)
ResourceCharacterization
♦
Six drought regions identified based on
natureandextent o f drought, climate crop
season and soil type viz. drought regions
identified viz.DR-I: Chronic Drought in Arid
Marginal Rainy Season Aridisols); DR-II:
Chronic Drought Regionin Arid Sub-marginal
Rainy Season Vertisols and Alfisols); DR-III:
Chronic Drought Region in Dry Semi-arid
Delayed Rainy Season; Vertisols and Alfisols);
DR-IV: Chronic Droughtin Dry Semi-arid Post
Rainy Season V ertic/V ertisols); DR-V:
Ephemeral Droughtin Wet Semi-arid Rainy
Season Vertisols/Alfisols); DR-VI: Apparent
Droughtin Dry Sub-humid Alfisols/Oxisols
Regions).
♦
Del ineated Rainfed Agro economic zones: For
developing Agri entrepreneurships network
with crop diversification and value addition in
rainfed regions (CRIDA Vision2030).
♦
Characterized Rain water harvesting o f
potential zones in the agro-climatic domains
of AICRPDA centers.
Rainwater Management
♦
Developed location specific in sit moisture
conservation practices for diverse dryland
agro- ecologies based on rain fall and soil
types viz. deeptillage,compartmental bunding,
inter -plot rain water harvesting techniques,
conservation furrow, broadbed & furrows,
raised bed & furrow system, ridges & furrows,
tiedridges, zingterracing, mulching techniques,
etc.
♦
Ex-siturain water management: Based on
catchment- storage-command area relationship,
standardized rainwater harvesting structures
viz. farm pond and other WHSs for diverse
rainfall and soil types and efficient rain water
utilization for higher water productivity.
♦
Developed location-specific groundwater
recharging techniques/Models at Parbhani,
Bijapur, Bangalore and Rajkot centers with
efficient filtering mechanisms.
Cropping Systems
♦
Identified potential cropping systems and
drought vulnerability based on rainfall and
soil types: For rainfall zones of 350-650mm,
in Alfisols, shallow Vertisols, Aridisols and
Entisols with growing season of 15 weeks,
single cropping; for rainfall zones 350- 650mm,
indeep Aridisols and Inceptisols, with growing
season of 20 weeks. Either rainy or post- rainy
season crop and in deep vertisols, post-rainy
season cropping for rainfall zones of 650mm -
800mm, in deep Vertisols, Alfisols and Entisols,
with growing season of 30 weeks, double
cropping; and >1100 mm rainfall zones, indeep
Alfisols/Oxisols, with >30 weeks growing
season, double cropping is possible.
Soil Management
♦
Identified emerging nutrient deficiencies in
rainfedproduction systems:
♦
INM studies have established that 50% of
recommendedN through organic sources and
50% ofN through inorganic sources along with
micro nutrients and bio fertilizers augment
edoverall nutrient turnovers for soil fertility
management. Green manure could meet half
the N requirements o a crop. Inclusion of
legumes in arotation produced benefit to the
succeeding crop equivalent to 10-30 kgNha-1.
♦
Characterized soil organic carbon stocks in
rainfed production systems: Organic C stocks
varied Vertisols, Inceptisols, Alfisols, Aridisols
in decreasing order. Inorganic C and total C
stocks were larger in Vertisols than in other
soil types. Soil organic C stocks decreased with
depth in the profile, where as in organic C
stocks increased with depth. Among the
production systems, soybean, maize and
groundnut-based systems showed greater
organic C stocks than other production
systems.
♦
Carbon sequestration strategies identifiedfor
diverse rainfed production systems:
Conjunctive use of chemical fertilizers and
organic manure resulted in higher sustainable
yield index (SYI) over unfertilized control and
2018
Dryland Agricultural in India
511
sole application of either chemical fertilizers
ororganic manures. The mean annual C input
were recorded maximum in soybean system
followed that in rice and groundnut systems.
The soil organic carbon content increased from
0.23% to 0.39% at Anantapur, 0.23% to 0.39%
at Bangalore, 0.36% to 0.56% at Solapur due
to different INM practices.
♦
The carbon foot prints (TgCE ha-lyear-1)
were higher in cereals cropping systems
followed by oil seed and pulse systems.The
carbon foot prints per unit amount of yield (Tg
CE Mg-1 grain) showed higher for rice (2.8800)
- lentil (6.1463) sequence in Inceptisols.
♦
Identified key Soil quality indicators in
diverse rainfed agro ecologies: Organic
carbon (OC), available N, P, K, S, exchangeable
Ca, Mg and DTPA extractable Zn were emerged
as key chemical soil quality indicators in most
of the rainfed soils. Among these to biological
and physical soil quality indicators,
dehydrogenize activity, microbial biomass
carbon and labile carbon, bulk density and mean
weight diameter (soil structure) figured as
predominant indicators.
♦
Micronutrientresearchinrainfed production
systems: AtArjia, recommended dose ofN&P
with all limiting nutrients (Zn,BandMg)
gavehighestmaize grain yield(2474 kg/ha);at
Bengaluru, rec.NandK+ Lime @,300 kg/ha +
M gC03 @ 150kg/ha + Borax @ 10kg/ha
recorded ahigher finger millet mean grain yield
of 3580 Kg/ha; in sorghum at Kovilpatti,
maximum grain yield of 1624 kg/ha with40 kg
N/ha +2 0kg P/ha + 25 kg ZnS04/ha.
♦
Identified foliar spray o f potassium for
drought irrigation: Multi-location experiments
on diverse soil types and crops viz., Solapur,
Maharashtra {rabi sorghum,Vertisol); Arjia,
Rajasthan (maize, Inceptisols); Viswanath
Chariali, Assam (toria, Inceptisols); Rajkot,
Gujarat (groundnut, Vertic Inceptisols) and
Jam nagar, G ujarat (chickpea,V ertisols)
indicated, spray of 1% KN03 @ 35 and 55
days after sowing (DAS) in rabi sorghum, etc.
♦
Quantified tank silt application indicated
increased yields by 230% compared ton on
tank silt applied sites at Anantapur, Arjia,
Bangalore and Solapur centers. ADSS
developed for quantified tank silt application.
♦
Low till farming strategies identified:
Conventional till age was superior at Bangalore
for finger millet under semi-arid Alfisols; for
pearl millet under semi-arid Vertisols of
Solapur;for rice under moist sub humid Alfisols/
Oxisols of Phulbani; soybean under moist sub-
humid Vertisols of Rewa and groundnut under
semi-arid Alfisols of Anantapur.
Small farm mechanization in dry land agriculture
♦
D esigned, developed, evaluated and
popularized cost effective and energy efficient
tools, farm implements/machinery for various
agricultural operations including rain water
m anagem ent in dryland crops. Farm
mechanization reduced 20-59% operation cost,
saved 45-64% in operation time, saved 31-
38% seed & fertilizer and increased
productivity of dryland crops by 18- 53% .
Real-Time Contingency Planning
♦
Conceptualized in AICRPDA since 2010 as
two pronged approach i.e preparedness and
implementation to cope with delayed onset of
monsoon and inseason drought with various
real-time soil, crop, nutrient, rainwater and
energy management interventions.
♦
Identified suitable crops and varieties to cope
with delayed on set o f monsoon: Forex, at
Parbhani for 18 days delay, pigeonpea cv.
BDN711
Alternate Land Use Systems in dryland areas
♦
Alternate land use systems, particularly dryland
horticulture and agri-horti systems were
identified for different rainfall zones and soil
types which included agri silvi culture, agri
horticulture and silvi pasture systems: Aonlci +
finger millet/cow pea at Bangalore.
♦
A3 x 3 Productive Farming Systems Matrix in
Rainfed Agriculture developed: Land
Capability based Productive Farming Systems
are identified for drought prone regions based
on land capability, rainfall, and soil orders and
the outcome of research information generated
at AICRPD Acenters.
♦
Identified rainfed farming systems viz. at
Bangalore, crops + dairy + sheep + goat +
poultry + sericulture + piggery; at Kovilpatti
(TamilNadu) showed that crop + goat (4) +
poultry (20) + sheep (6) + dairy (1); at Bijapur
crops, horticulture, goat and poultry and at
A nantapur, sheep rearing (lO no.) and
groundnut cultivation (lha) and groundnut
cultivation (lha) +1 j ersey cow.
512
Sammi Reddy el al.,
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Contribution to Dryland Agriculture Development
♦
1974 - Integrated Dryland Development
Project
♦
1977 - Desert Development Programme
♦
1982 -Special programme on Integrated
Watershed Management
♦
1984 - ICAR-Model Watershed Programme
30 model watersheds (500-1 OOOha), in 13
states were assigned to AICRPDA for
technological backstopping
♦
1986 - with the success of Model watersheds,
Gol
launched
N ational
W atershed
Development Programmes in Rainfed Area
(NWDPRA) in 15 states
♦
2000 onwards - Development of policy
instruments in rainwater harvesting and
management; vulnerability of agriculture to
climate change; contingency crop planning and
its im plem entation to tackle w eather
aberrations, etc. This has led to promulgation
of suitable policies by state governments for
their implementation in rainfed regions for the
benefit of the farmers. Policy on farm pond/
percolation tanks in A ndhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka.
♦
2011 onwards - technical backstopping to
preparation of District Agriculture Contingency
Plans for 643 districts in the country.
Contributed to preparation of Compensatory
rabi production plans during2014,2015,2016.
♦
2016- Revised M anual on Drought
Management by DAC&FW, MoA & FW, Gol.
♦
2014 onwards -Integration of doable rainfed
technologies in State action plans under
National Missionon Sustainable Agriculture
(NM SA); M GNREGA, IWMP, RKVY,
NFSM, NHM; Dryland Farming Missions of
Karnataka, Maharashtra and Comprehensive
District Agriculture/Land Development Plans
of various districts.
♦
Further, contributed to policy formulation by
working with the Planning Commission,
National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA),
M oA & FW & M oR D , Gol.
Dryland Agriculture Research: Challenges Ahead
Multiple abiotic stresses are a key challenge
for dryland crops in future. In the same season, crops
can face drought in early part and water logging in the
later due to erratic rainfall distribution. Heat stress is
another factor which could influence crop yields
particularly during rabi season. An important area of
CRIDA’s work is to tap the diversification of dryland
regions with region-specific models of integrated
farming systems including livestock and fisheries. Such
systems will help in cushioning the stakeholders against
risks (drought) which are becoming more frequent in
recent years. Opportunities also exist for diversifying
to fruit, fodder, fuel wood and tim ber crops.
Opportunities exist in the form of small holders taking
up collective farming of single crops or form producer
companies. Crop simulation modeling is being done to
understand behaviour of crops in both current and
future environments. Work is being done to integrate
other components like natural resources, livestock,
poultry and fisheries sectors evolving a Systems
Modeling approach. This helps in identifying sustainable
integrated fanning system models to cope of the drought
situations.
The era of post genomics has ushered in with
vast knowledge about the genome sequences of various
crop species during recent years. It is now increasingly
easier to sequence and map genomes, giving scientists
access to infonnation. Nevertheless, converting this vast
information to field application has remained a bottle
neck. CRIDA is developing next generation research
tools which will be applied to deep probe plant function
and performance, under controlled and field conditions.
Under the National Initiative on Climate Resilient
Agriculture (NICRA), scientists are working on high
throughput precision phenol typing. Large number of
germplasm lines has been collected, characterized for
drought tolerance in rice, maize, pigeonpea, tomato,
black gram and green gram. High throughput screening
and phenol typing of these germplasm lines is being
undertaken using state of the art facilities like Plant
Phenomics, Rainout shelters, Temperature Gradient
Chambers for drought and heat tolerance across several
partner institutes under NICRA. State of the art phenol
typing platform with automated non destructive imaging
based scan analysis of crop growth and development
is going to speed up breeding for drought and other
abiotic stresses.
Dryland Developmental Schemes/Projects
After independence five year plans were
started, all the five year plans gave considerable
importance to the creation of additional irrigation
potential in the country. When five year planning started
in our country, the irrigation potential was 23 million
hectares which included 10 million hectares from major
and medium irrigation works and 13 million hectares
from the minor irrigation works. Even after fully
realizing the irrigation potential, nearly half of the
cultivated area in the country will remain rainfed. These
regions host bulk of the rural poor (Bantilan et al.,
2006). Further, the growth in irrigated agriculture,
mostly based on what is known as ‘green revolution’
technologies, has either slowed down or stagnated and
2018
Dryland Agricultural in India
513
the associated environmental costs are increasingly
becoming evident. It was shown that growth in GDP
originating from agriculture is much more effective in
reducing poverty than the GDP growth outside
agriculture. It was also observed that ‘additional
spending in many of the rainfed areas/dryland raises
far more poor people above the poverty line than does
additional investment in irrigated areas (Fan and Hazell,
2000).
Considering the observation that the green
revolution has largely bypassed the fragile rainfed /
dryland regions, that the livelihoods of millions of rural
population continue to be dependent on dryland
agriculture and also that there is a need to broaden the
base of agricultural growth beyond irrigated regions and
crops, it becomes imperative to take appropriate policies
and measures for enhancing sustainability of agriculture
in these regions. Further, the emphasis of the current
economic development policy on inclusiveness also
requires that the rainfed agriculture development
receives due attention. After independence several
programmes were started for conservation and
management of natural resources in drylands/rainfed
areas.
Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP)
It is the “earliest area development programme”
launched by the Central Government in 1973-74 to
tackle the special problems faced by these fragile areas
which are constantly affected by severe drought
conditions.
In 1977-78, D esert D evelopm ent
Programme (DDP) was launched for hot desert areas
of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and cold desert areas
of Jammu & Kaslnnir and Himachal Pradesh. Similarly,
in 1989, Integrated W atershed D evelopm ent
Programme (IWDP) was launched under the aegis of
N ational W asteland D evelopm ent Board for
development of wastelands on watershed basis.
Common Guidelines for Watershed Development, 2008
were issued and made effective from 1.4.2008. The
three watershed programmes of the Department of
Land Resources namely DPAP, DDP and IWDP were
consolidated during 2009 as a com prehensive
programme titled ‘Integrated Watershed Management
Programme (IWMP) and was implemented under
Common Guidelines issued by National Rainfed Area
Authority. However, now this has become a part of
newly launched programme titled “Pradhan Mantri
Krishi Sinchayee Yojana” (PMKSY).
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
later renamed as the “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act” (MGNREGA) is a social
security measure that aims to guarantee the ‘right to
work’. It aims at enhancing livelihood security in rural
areas by providing at least 100 days of wage
employment in a financial year to every household
whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual
work. Another aim of MGNREGA is to create durable
assets such as roads, canals, ponds, wells, etc.
Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an
applicant’s residence and minimum wages are to be
paid at regular interval. If work is not provided within
15 days of request, applicants are entitled to an
unemployment allowance. MGNREGA is to be
implemented mainly by gram panchayats (GPs). The
involvement of contractors is banned. Labour-intensive
tasks involving earth work like creating infrastructure
for water harvesting, drought relief and flood control
are preferred. Apart from providing economic security
and creating rural assets, the programme is helping
in protecting the environment, empowering rural
wom en,
reducing rural-urban m igration and
fostering social equity.
National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
(NMSA)
C onservation of natural resources in
conjunction with development of rainfed agriculture
holds the key to meet burgeoning demands for food
grain in the country. Towards this end. National Mission
for Sustainable A griculture (NM SA) has been
formulated for enhancing agricultural productivity
especially in rainfed areas focusing on integrated
farming, water use efficiency, soil health management
and synergizing resource conservation. NMSA derives
its mandate from Sustainable Agriculture Mission which
is one of the eight Missions outlined under National
Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). The
strategies and programme of actions (POA) outlined in
the Mission Document, that was accorded ‘ in principle’
approval by Prime M inister’s Council on Climate
Change (PMCCC) aims at promoting sustainable
agriculture through a series of adaptation measures
focusing on ten key dimensions encompassing Indian
agriculture namely; ‘Improved crop seeds, livestock
and fish cultures’, ‘Water Use Efficiency’, ‘Pest
Management’, ‘Improved Farm Practices’, ‘Nutrient
Management’, ‘Agriculturalinsurance’, ‘Credit support’,
‘Markets’, ‘Access to Information’ and ‘Livelihood
diversification’. During XII Five Year Plan, these
measures are being embedded and main streamed into
ongoing/proposed Missions/ Progammes/ Schemes of
Dept, of Agriculture & Cooperation (DAC) through a
process of restructuring and convergence. NMSA
architecture has been designed by converging,
consolidating and subsuming all ongoing as well as
newly proposed activities/programmes related to
514
Sammi Reddy et al.,
AAJ 65
sustainable agriculture with a special emphasis on soil
& water conservation, water use efficiency, soil health
management and rainfed area development. Also NMSA
aims at promoting location specific improved agronomic
practices through soil health management, enhanced
water use efficiency, judicious use of chemicals, crop
diversification, progressive adoption of integrated
farming systems and approaches like crop-sericulture,
agro forestry, fish farming, etc. The sub-components
of NMSA are soil health management, soil health card
scheme, organic farming, micro irrigation and rainfed
area development
Soil Health Management
Soil health management aims at improving
nutrient availability in desired limits to enhance crop
productivity which is the major technological challenge
for ensuring food security and sustaining rural
development. Plant nutrition management is also
essential to sustain and enhance crop productivity to
meet the demand for food and raw materials and to
maintain the quality of land and water resources. To
ensure soil health, accurate in ventorization of soil
resources is a prerequisite. Soil health can be improved
through several site and soil-specific management
options.
Soil health card scheme
The GOI has launched Soil Health Card
Scheme on 19.02.2015 with an objective to issue soil
health cards to farmers covering all the land holdings
within a period of three years. The farmers will be
covered once in every three years. As per the guidelines
of GOI the sharing pattern of funds for implementation
of scheme during 2014-16 was 75:25, from 2015-16
the sharing pattern of funds was revised to 50:50.
Rainfed Area Development (RAD)
Drought prone areas are characterized by
inadequate and erratic rainfall coupled with high evapo
transpiration rate, eroded soils and high frequency of
drought. It is necessary to provide agriculture based
income generating opportunities and sustaining the
rainfed agriculture through optimum utilization of natural
resources and resources created through various
interventions. In this context, RAD component has
special significance to manage the drought. The sub
components of RAD are Integrated Farming Systems
(IFS) and implementing the in situ soil and water
conservation activities like: Contour Bunding, Graded
Bunding, Gully Plugging, Nala Bunds, Terracing,
Contour Trenching, etc.
Organic Farming
Promotion of organic farming is an ongoing
project under RKVY andNMSAfrom2013-14 and in
operation under three components:
1. Area Expansion under Organic fanning with capacity
building through Trainings and Exposure Visits
2. Establishment of Bio fertilizer Production Units
3. Introduction of new scheme for promotion of Natural
Farming
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
Govt, of India launched Central Assistance
Scheme i.e., Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
during XI five year plan period to provide incentive to
states for increasing investments in Agriculture and Allied
Sectors. The RKVY funds would be provided to the
States as 100% grant by the Central Government. From
2015-16 onwards these are revised with only 50%
support from central and the state has to put the
matching 50% budget. The components/ activities
eligible for development as part of RKVY are:
♦
Integrated development of major food crops
(for inputs like seed, production of breeder
seed, seed treatment, farmers field schools,
farmers training etc)
♦
Agriculture mechanization (individual or
custom hiring basis)
♦
Activities for soil health management - soil
health cards, micro nutrient demos, etc.
♦
Development of rainfed fanning systems in and
outside watershed areas
♦
IPM schemes
♦
Promoting extension services
♦
Activities for promoting horticulture production
♦
Animal husbandry and fisheries activities
♦
Study tour of fanners
♦
Production of organic inputs and bio-fertilizers
and marketing
♦
Sericulture
National Food Security Mission (NFSM)
The National Food Security Mission scheme
was launched by Government of India during XI Plan
and continued during XII Plan. Under National Food
Security Mission, Government of India has envisaged
certain objectives during the XII Plan. Coarse Cereals
including maize and commercial crops based cropping
systems (cotton, jute and sugarcane) is part of NFSM
during 2014-15. Financial allocations under rice, pulses,
coarse cereals and commercial crops for the year 2015-
lb are part of the mission. National Mission on Oilseeds
and Oil Palm (NMOOP), MM-I for Oilseeds and MM-
II for Oil Palm was merged in National Food Security
2018
Dryland Agricultural in India
515
Mission scheme from 1st April 2014. MM-I on
Oilseeds programme is to increase oilseed production
and productivity. NMOOP had different components
like farm implements and machinery, plant protection
chemicals and weedicides, supply of micronutrients,
bio inputs, micro irrigation, soil amendments, oilseed
demonstrations and trainings.
National Horticultural Mission
A National Horticulture Mission was launched
in 2005-06 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to
promote holistic growth of the horticulture sector
through an area based regionally differentiated
strategies. The scheme has been subsumed as a part of
Mission for Integration Development of Horticulture
(MIDH) during 2014-15. National Horticulture Mission
is a centrally sponsored scheme in which Government
of India provided 100% assistance to the state mission
during the year 2005-06 and later got revised during
XI plan, the assistance from Government of India will
be 85% w ith 15% contribution by the State
Government.
♦
It provides assistance for Area Expansion,
Rejuvenation, Post Harvest, Marketing and
Processing, Human resource Development etc,
which will help the all round development of
horticulture in the State
♦
To provide holistic growth of the horticulture
sector through an area based regionally
differentiated strategies which include research,
technology promotion, extension, post harvest
management, processing and marketing, in
consonance with comparative advantage of
each State/region and its diverse agro-climatic
feature.
♦
To enhance horticulture production to improve
nutritional security and income support to farm
households.
♦
To establish convergence and synergy among
multiple on-going and planned programmesfor
horticulture development.
♦
To prom ote, develop and dissem inate
technologies, through a seamless blend of
traditional wisdom and modern scientific
knowledge.
♦
To create opportunities for employment
generation for skilled and unskilled persons,
especially unemployed youth.
Pradhan MantriKrishi Sinchayee Yojana
Government of India launched a programme
“Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)
in 2015 and is committed to accord high priority to
water conservation and its management. PMKSY has
been formulated with the vision of extending the
coverage o f irrigation to every farm land
‘H arK hetK oPani’ and im proving w ater use
efficiency ‘More Crop per Drop’ in a focused manner
with end to end solution on source creation, distribution,
management, field application and extension activities.
PMKSY has been formulated amalgamating ongoing
schem es, viz., A ccelerated Irrigation B enefit
Program m e (AIBP) of the M inistry o f W ater
Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation
(MoWR, RD&GR), Integrated Watershed Management
Programme (IWMP ) of Department of Land Resources
(DoLR) and the On Farm Water Management (OFWM)
of Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry
of agriculture and Farmers Welfare. In rainfed areas
under this scheme the following activities are being
promoted:
♦
Water harvesting structures to be constructed
such as check dams, nala bund, farm ponds,
tanks etc.
♦
Capacity building, entry point activities, ridge
area treatment, drainage line treatment, soil and
m oisture conservation, nursery raising,
afforestation,
horticulture,
pasture
development, livelihood activities for the asset
less persons and production system & micro
enterprises for small and marginal farmers etc.
♦
Effective rainfall management like field
bunding, contour bunding/trenching, staggered
trenching, land leveling, mulching, etc.
♦
Repair, restoration and renovation of water
bodies; strengthening carrying capacity of
traditional water sources, construction of rain
water harvesting structures (Jal Sanchay);
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yoj ana
Crop Insurance
For the benefit of the farming community,
G overnm ent has taken proactive steps and is
implementing the scheme “National Crop Insurance
Programme” (NCIP) comprising two components i.e.,
1. Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme
(MNAIS) 2. Weather-Based Crop Insurance Scheme
(WBCIS) from kharif 2014 with many more farmer-
friendly features. The scheme has been re-shaped and
a now it is known as Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima
Yojana and was launched during January 2016 in which
the burden of premium on farmer has been eased out.
The premium is 2% of the sum assured for kharif crops
while it is 1.5% for rabi. The rate for commercial crops
like cotton and other horticultural crops is 5% of
insurance sum assured. The scheme is supported by
technology backstopping for timely disbursement of
516
Sammi Reddy el al.,
AAJ65
the claims. This is one of the best instruments for the
farmers to transfer the risk associated with drought
and other natural calamities.
National Innovations in Climate Resilient
Agriculture (NICRA)
The ICAR launched a Network Project on
Climate Change in 2004 with 15 centers which were
expanded later covering 23 centers across the country.
In 2011, the ICAR launched a mega project called
“National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture”
(NICRA) with four main modules: strategic research,
technology demonstration, knowledge management and
capacity building. Technology demonstration was taken
up in the farmer’s fields in a participatory manner to
make the farmers self-reliant for adaptation under
changing climate. These climate resilient villages are
now serving as models and also as learning sites for
up-scaling and expanding to other parts of the district.
D em onstration of available locations specific
technologies related to natural resource management,
crop production, livestock & fisheries and institutional
interventions is the primary objective for enhancing
adaptation gains and mitigation potential for building
clim ate resilience. Technology dem onstration
component (TDC) under NICRA is being implemented
in 121 vulnerable districts of the country through 121
Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s (KVKs) spread across the
country in 28 States and 1 Union Territory through
eleven Zonal Project Directorates, now known as
ATARIs. The National Agricultural Research System
(NARS) in general and the institutes are addressing the
research needs of rainfed agriculture and developed a
number of technologies over years. These can be
broadly categorized into improved crop varieties
(resistant to drought or moisture stress, high yielding,
resistant to pests and diseases, etc.), crop management
(adjusting time of sowing, interculture, etc), resource
management (off-season tillage, in-situ conservation,
rain water harvesting practices, etc.) and nutrient and
pest management technologies. Adoption of these
technologies in isolation and in combination with one
another has shown significant yield gains. The
contribution of changes in yields over years to the
changes in production reflects the contribution of
technology.
Dryland Agriculture and Policy Bias
The circumstances at the time of independence
rightly demanded that food production be increased
considerably to meet the acute food shortages that the
country was facing. The initial increases in food grain
production came from the expansion of area cultivated.
The real thrust to production came in the form of green
revolution which was a result of the efforts of the
National Agricultural Research System, investments
made in irrigation infrastructure, extension efforts of
the departments of agriculture of state governments,
favourable policy making and more importantly the
diligence of the farming community. This growth in
production led by productivity gains was largely based
on the use of high yielding crop varieties, intensive use
of chemical fertilizers, irrigation and plant protection
chemicals. Though such technology was observed to
be scale-neutral, it was not neutral to access to resources
and thus bypassed many farmers who do not have
access to resources and many harsh environments
where the access to irrigation is limited and the soils
are highly degraded. And the development of HYVs
for rainfed less favored areas is difficult and the adoption
of such varieties is hampered by the diversity in growing
conditions of these regions (Fan and Chan-kang., 2004).
The process of such an agricultural development model,
most of the policy making, investments and institutions
for supporting agriculture was built around the
requirements of the input intensive irrigated agriculture
model. Most of subsidies like those on chemical
fertilizers, irrigation water, institutional credit and price
support largely went to the farmers growing irrigated
crops and the farmers growing rainfed crops did not
have such support. The policies related to procurement
and public distribution system also favoured the two
cereals namely rice and wheat and hence most of the
benefits of such policies were enjoyed by a few states
contributing to the national food grain stocks. Except
the programmes related to watershed development,
there is no major programme that addresses to the
specific needs of rainfed agriculture in the country. The
investments on watershed development are at present
around Rs. 12, 000/ha which is much less than what is
being spent on creation o f‘formal’ irrigation facilities.
As mentioned earlier, the very nature of dryland
agriculture is highly diverse and is very different from
the irrigated agriculture. The problems are variable
across space and over time within a given location.
The current models of agricultural extension system
do not fully match with the requirements of promoting
dryland agriculture. The extension system should have
the capability of guiding the farmers in optimally utilizing
the natural resources available in the region rather than
limiting themselves to see that a few critical inputs are
made available to the farmers. The research and
extension systems should work in close liaison so that
technologies are adapted to the local needs as a
prescriptive model is least likely to work in dryland
agriculture. The extension systems have to work with
farmer groups rather than with individual farmers as it
is not possible to have technologies and systems in
2018
Dryland Agricultural in India
517
place for optimum utilization of natural resources at
the scale of an individual land holding.
Emerging promises
Recognizing the specific needs of dryland
agriculture, there have been several attempts to address
the challenges of raising productivity of rainfed
agriculture in the country by a number of organizations
from the government, civil society and various other
organizations like international donors. What is common
across such successful interventions that had a positive
effect in productivity, incomes and status of natural
resources is that they forged partnerships with
institutions that have different strengths to be harnessed
in cohesion and provided the necessary technological,
institutional and capital support. M any of the
interventions that are recommended for sustainable
growth in rainfed agriculture revolve around soil and
water conservation, integrated nutrient management,
timely availability of inputs, timely farm operations,
linkage to markets, etc,. Such interventions are both
knowledge intensive and labour intensive and often
mobilization of community around addressing the
problems becomes a necessary condition. This ability
to mobilize the community was also identified as one
of the key contributors to the successful implementation
of watershed development and livelihood projects in
the country.
Research and Policy Needs in Dryland
Agriculture
Dryland agriculture is synonymous with risky
agriculture as production is dependent on monsoon rains
known to be inadequate, erratic and undependable. The
productivity levels are not only low but are also highly
variable which act as an impediment to investment by
the resource-poor farmers. Climatic risk is manifested
in terms of incidence of droughts, floods and high intra
season variability in rainfall. Hence, risk - climatic and
other forms of risk - remains a key challenge to the
researchers and policy makers. A dissection of risk points
to two basic factors - poor biophysical capacity of soils
in terms of nutrients, organic matter, water holding
capacity and low availability of water. The generic
nature of these problems is more or less adequately
understood and recognized. However, what and how
to address these issues in varied situations is an important
challenge that deserves the attention of all concerned
in the short term. There has been ample evidence of
beneficial effects of improving organic matter through
such approaches as INM on the levels and stability of
crop yields. Similarly, the potential economic benefits
from rain water harvesting at farm level has been well
demonstrated. Translating this evidence into wide
spread adoption of the relevant practices constitutes
the challenge for short and medium term.
CONCLUSION
Sustainable agriculture policy should aim at
promoting technically sound, economically viable,
environmentally non-degrading and socially acceptable
use of country’s natural resources - land, water and
genetic endowments. The processes of technology
development and transfer, policy making related to
agriculture in general and dryland agriculture in particular
and input and service delivery systems are to be made
more proactive, cohesive, integrated and flexible in
order to make dryland agriculture viable and
sustainable. It should be recognized that the critical
problems of dryland agriculture are different from those
of irrigated agriculture and therefore need different
solutions and hence a different approach. The approach
must be able to deal with the complexity and diversity
of the dryland environments. Accordingly, the solutions
are bound to be location specific and replicability and
scalability are not easy to ensure in dryland agriculture.
Ecosystem services provided by Dryland/rainfed regions
or crops should be recognized by policy making and
programme form ulation. Investments are to be
enhanced, targeted and prioritized for diverse Dryland/
rainfed regions.
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Received on 11.01.2019 and revised on 17.01.2019
